The invention relates to a toothbrush comprising a handle, with a bristle portion for cleaning the teeth being provided at a first end of the handle, and a massaging portion being provided at a second end of the handle opposite the bristle portion.
As a rule, toothbrushes in one end region of a handle comprise a bristle portion for cleaining the teeth and, moreover, also for massaging the gums. However, since the bristles are mainly used in the comparatively sensitive transition region between teeth and gums, they are relatively soft so as not to cause any injuries of the gums in this region. Therefore, it has already been known to provide a massaging portion at the end of the handle opposite the bristle portion, which massaging portion exclusively serves for massaging the gums and which does not have any bristles jeopardizing the gums.
From DE 40 29 719 A1, a toothbrush is known in which at the end of the handle opposite the bristle portion, one of several additional parts comprising differently shaped massaging elements may be attached. This additional massaging part is mounted on the handle via a plug-in fit and comprises exchangeable rotatable rollers or wheels for massaging the gums. However, the provision of this additional massaging part results in a comparatively complex, expensive construction, which, moreover, is failure-prone as a consequence of the movable elements, and, furthermore, has a relatively sharp transition between handle and massaging part, possibly resulting in injuries in the gum or inner lip and cheek regions, respectively.
It is an object of this invention to provide a toothbrush of the initially defined type, which is easy to produce and which comprises a massaging portion by which risks of injuries in the gum region as well as in the inner lip and cheek regions can be prevented.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a toothbrush comprising a massaging portion which is particularly well suited for being introduced into the space between gums and lip, or cheek, respectively.
In the toothbrush according to the invention, the massaging portion is formed integrally with the handle and has the shape of an at least partially convex body. The body may be cambered, partially flattened, and it may also be textured so as to improve the massaging effect. By xe2x80x9ctexturedxe2x80x9d, a surface having elevations, a rough, fluted or the like profiled surface is to be understood.
By designing the massage portion to be integral with the handle, at least a substantially continuous, gap-free transition can be provided between the handle and the massaging portion which reduces the risk of injuries in the gum region as well as in the inner lip and cheek regions; the shape of the at least partially convex body (e.g. spherical, spherical-segment-shaped, egg-shaped, paraboloidal, ellipsoidal or also tongue-shaped) contributes to this, since sharp edges or corners are avoided by which injuries could possibly be caused by an untrained user of the toothbrush. In this manner, a toothbrush which is particularly suitable for children is obtained which may be used by children without any reservations, since also with still untrained handling of the toothbrush, the risk of an injury in the region of the gums as well as in the inner lip and cheek regions is minimized by the afore-mentioned design of the massaging portion. Moreover, it is also possible to use the massaging portion as a tongue scraper for cleaning of the tongue, in addition to massaging. A further, not unsubstantial advantage of the one-piece design is that by the continous, gap-free connection, a simple and reliable cleaning is possible resulting in a hygienically advantageous toothbrush including a massaging portion, with which infections may effectively be prevented.
To obtain a relatively large massaging surface, on the one hand, and to design the massaging portion relatively flat, on the other hand, and to enable a simple and agreeable introduction of the massaging portion between lip and cheek, respectively, and the gums it is advantageous if the massaging portion has a substantially elliptical cross-section.
To achieve a soothing effect with the massaging element when massaging the gums, particularly to alleviate pain caused by inflamed gums in teething infants, it is advantageous if the massaging portion comprises projecting, e.g. knob-like, massaging elements. In this connection, it is also advantageous if the projecting massaging elements or, generally, textures are designed differently on the front and rear sides.
If the massaging portion comprises projecting massaging elements which are substantially linear and extend substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the toothbrush, a tooth gel may be inserted in the regions between the linear massaging elements, which later on may be massaged into the gums by aid of the massaging portion. This is particularly advantageous for alleviating the pain when infants are teething, where so far commonly the parents had to apply a tooth gel with their fingers so as to alleviate pain; this might result in the transmission of germs, or slight injuries might be caused by the fingernails.
For a continuous transition without any steps from the handle to the massaging portion and for a good handling of the toothbrush it is advantageous if the handle has a substantially elliptical cross-section at least over part of its longitudinal extension.
For further improving the grip on the toothbrush, it is suitable if the handle comprises narrowed and widened partial regions over at least part of its longitudinal extension. In this manner, depressions are formed between the widened partial regions by the narrowed partial regions, in which the fingers of the user of the toothbrush come to lie, thus preventing slipping of the fingers in the longitudinal direction of the toothbrush.
To avoid possible sharp edges on the handle which would substantially reduce the comfortable using of the toothbrush it is suitable if continuous transitions are provided between the narrowed and the widened partial regions of the handle.
If each one of the widened partial regions of the handle has at least two projecting gripping knobs the risk of the handle slipping in one""s hand in the longitudinal and radial directions of the toothbrush can be further reduced.
In a preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention, in which the final widened partial region of the handle constitutes the massaging portion, a particularly compact and esthetic toothbrush will result in which the transition from the handle to the massaging portion is a continuous one.
To make the toothbrush more torsion-proof in the region of the bristle portion, it is advantageous if the handle comprises a neck portion of substantially rectangular cross-section which is followed by the bristle portion. The neck portion of substantially rectangular cross-section suitably has rounded corner regions so that particularly in the transition range to the handle portion of substantially elliptical cross-section, a continuous transition without any steps is achieved by well-rounded corners.
To enable common handling of the toothbrush by a child and an adult to thus help the child learn the correct movements, it is advantageous if the handle comprises an extension portion followed by the massaging portion. In this manner, the adult may grip the extension portion which serves as a guide, while the child grips the toothbrush on the remaining handle, whereby the child can be taught the correct movements for cleaning the teeth in a simple manner.
For a good control of the strength of the handle and its neck portion, respectively, when pressing the bristle part at the gums and at the teeth, respectively, it is advantageous if the handle is injection-moulded of a multi-component plastic material. In this manner, it is also possible to obtain a multi-colored design which is particularly interesting and appealing to children.
If the material components of the handle have different moduli of elasticity, the resultant toothbrush not only will be optically pleasing because it may comprise several colors in a simple manner due to the several components used, but the toothbrush may also have different stiffnesses in different partial regions corresponding to the requirements during the cleaning procedure.
In particular, it is suitable if the massaging element and the handle as well as connecting webs between them are made of a plastic component having a lower modulus of elasticity, and the remaining parts of the toothbrush, optionally the neck portion and the extension portion, are made of a plastic component having a higher modulus of elasticity. In this manner, yielding of the neck portion at a relatively high pressure at the gums may be achieved, whereby injuries in the gum region by the bristles will be avoided, and, on the other hand, a massaging portion which is relatively hard as compared to the bristles can be obtained which is particularly suitable to alleviate the pain when infants are teething.